Tip of the Week – The Fan Faire/EQ Overview!
It’s two days until Fan Faire 2009? Are you ready for some fun? Soon gamers from all over will descend upon Las Vegas to join SOE employees in days of massive online gaming fun. No matter which SOE game you play, there will be something for everyone who attends...even those who have yet to try our games.
Online registration has already closed, but you can still attend the Fan Faire through walk-in registration which begins June 25, 2009 at 4pm Vegas Time!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The EverQuest Team ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The following members of the EQ team are scheduled to be at Fan Faire, as well as a host of folks from the other SOE teams and departments!
Lydia "Zatozia the Torturess" Pope – Community Manager
Thom "Phathom" Terrazas - Producer
Harvey "Rahtiz" Burgess - Project Manager
Michelle "Elionia" Butler - Associate Producer
Ryan "Rytan" Barker – Lead Designer
Steve "SKlug" Klug - Lead Programmer
Alan "Absor" VanCouvering – Assistant Lead Designer
Jonathan "Prathun" Caraker - Designer
Adam "Ngreth" Bell - Designer
David "Nodyin" Ford - Designer
John "Raramor" Boomershine – Designer
Doug “Elidroth” Cronkite - Designer
Ed "Aristo" Hardin - Designer
Jennifer "JChan" Chan - Programmer
And others who are coming to hang out!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Schedule ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
View the full Fan Faire Schedule for additional activities and updates.
Thursday, June 25th:
Thursday is arrival day for mostly everyone.
The Early Bird Registration and Badge Pick-Up tables will be opened from 4pm to 8pm. This will ensure that everyone can grab their badge, or register and grab one right after they check in. Unfortunately, we have no way of giving out the badges after 8pm. If you miss the cut off you will need to wait until Friday morning to get your badge.
Crossroads will be open from 4pm to 8pm and then from 10pm to midnight.
Sign up for the Tournaments will be at the information desk Thursday evening.
Starting at 8:00 PM there will be a Welcome Reception at the in Bally's Event Center. SOE dev team members and more will be present to welcome everyone as they arrive and everyone will be able to chill out and chat casually about the games we love to play.
In the late evening from 10pm to 1 AM, there will be a Late Night Gaming session. Come chill out and play Legends of Norrath, Free Realms the Trading Card Game, Pox Nora and more. You must be an All-Access Fan Faire pass holder to attend.
Friday, June 26th:
Friday is the first full day of action at Fan Faire and there will be plenty of activities for everyone to participate in. Registration and Badge Pick-Up will open at 10:00 AM and run until 7:00 PM.
The Game Room is opening at 10:00 am and running until 7:00 pm. The Vendor Bazaar and Phat Lewt Store will be open form 10:00 am to 7:00 PM, and Crossroads will be open from 10:00 am to 7:00 PM.
By visiting each of these locations you can visit a great number of vendors, jump in game and say ‘Hello from Fan Faire!” to your online buddies, and hang out with SOE employees and your friends while you enjoy refreshments at Crossroads.
The EverQuest Live Quest will be taking place from 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM. Team up with several others in a real life quests. Several teams of up to 10 people will participate in this 2-hour, fun-filled adventure and journey to help a cast of characters!
The EverQuest development team will be appearing on the following panels:
- 11am - 12pm - EverQuest® 10th Anniversary Celebration Panel: The EverQuest 10th Anniversary Celebration Panel will examine the development and evolution of the EverQuest franchise and the people behind it. Moderated by veteran video game developer and personality Jace Hall, this panel will give fans a chance to learn the story behind the game and get a glimpse into the future of EverQuest.
- 12pm – 2pm - EverQuest® Live Quest
- 2pm – 3pm - EverQuest - Game Mechanics: Panelists - Jonathan Caraker, David Ford, Adam Bell, Ed Hardin, Doug Cronkhite, Ryan Barker. Overview and Q&A discussion on Spells, AA, Tradeskills, Items, and other game mechanics.
- 3pm – 4pm - EverQuest - Quest Design: Panelists - Alan VanCouvering, Doug Cronkhite, John Boomershine. A behind-the-scenes panel to discuss the processes and tools used when designing and implementing quests for EverQuest.
- 4pm – 5pm - EverQuest - Quest Workshop: Panelists - Jonathan Caraker, Alan VanCouvering, David Ford, Adam Bell, Ed Hardin, Doug Cronkhite, Ryan Barker, John Boomershine. Design a quest with the EverQuest team - Learn about the EQ quest design process, and get hands-on training from game designers as you help design a quest that might make its way into the game.
- 5pm – 6pm - EverQuest - General Discussion: Panelists - Ryan Barker, Alan VanCouvering, David Ford, John Boomershine, Ed Hardin. An open panel to discuss General EQ Topics.
Community Address: At 7:00 pm on Friday, see what's new at SOE! To kickoff the 2009 SOE Fan Faire, SOE President John Smedley will provide opening remarks to more than 1500 video game fans at the Bally's Las Vegas. The third annual "Community Address," will be streamed online allowing both Fan Faire attendees and gamers worldwide to get the very latest updates from SOE.
Not attending Fan Faire? Don’t worry you still have a chance to hear the address via the Live Webcase. To register for the webcast, CLICK HERE
To close out the day, following the Community Address we will celebrate the EverQuest 10th Anniversary Birthday Bash!! There will be live entertainment, light snacks and complimentary bar until midnight. Additional food will be available for purchase.
Saturday, June 27th:
Registration, Badge Pick-Up, the Game Room, Bazaar, Phat Lewt Store, and Crossroads will all be open on Saturday from 10:00 AM through 6:00 PM. This will ensure that if you have not had a chance to stop by each area on Friday, you can check them out in your free time on Saturday and share in all the action.
The EverQuest Best of the Best Tournament will be taking place from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Contestants get to battle each other for the right to call themselves The Best! Sign up for this tournament will be on Thursday evening.
- 10am – 4pm - EverQuest Best of the Best Tournament: Check in at the Info Desk onsite for more information
- 10am – 11am - EverCracked! - The World Premiere: Fan Faire welcomes you to the world premier of EverCracked! The Phenomenon of EverQuest. The film, hosted by veteran video game developer and personality Jace Hall, includes the history of EQ with never-before-seen footage and interviews with industry moguls and longtime players. EverCracked! details the events, products, personalities and art that graced the world of Norrath over the years, with many tongue-in-cheek moments that befit EverQuest's own sense of fun and humor.
- 1pm – 2pm - EverCracked! - 2nd screening: (See above.)
- 2pm – 3pm - EverQuest - Mayong (51/50) Server Demo: Panelists - Ed Hardin, Alan VanCouvering, Doug Cronkhite. A panel to demonstrate the functionality of the newest server being released for EverQuest!
- 3pm – 4pm - EverQuest Raid Workshop: Panelists - Jonathan Caraker, David Ford, Alan VanCouvering, Dough Cronkhite, Ed Hardin, Adam Bell, Ryan Barker. Design a Raid with the EverQuest team - Learn about the EQ Raid Design process and get hands on training from Game Designers as you help design a quest that might make its way into the game.
- 4pm – 5pm - EverQuest - Game Mechanics: Panelists - Jonathan Caraker, David Ford, Adam Bell, Ed Hardin, Ryan Barker, John Boomershine. Overview and Q&A discussion on spells, AA, tradeskills, items, and other game mechanics.
- 5pm – 6pm - EverQuest - Things That You Want to Know About EQ:
The Grand Banquet will begin at 8:00 PM and will provide a full buffet dinner for attendees. At the banquet the SOE Fan Faire Costume Contest will take place.
Event schedule and times are subject to change. Please check the schedule when you arrive at Fan Faire to be sure you have the most accurate information.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Fan Faire Resources ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
- Vegas Fan Faire Preparation - What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas! But… What you leave at home stays at home! Here are some tips on preparing for the 2009 Vegas SOE Fan Faire to keep you from leaving something important behind.
- Flickr Group for Fan Faire! - All attending Fan Faire 2008 are welcome to share their photos with the community through the newly created Flickr group.
- Twitter – Do you Twitter? Get updates on your mobile phone and on the web! Follow us at twitter.com/soefanfaire.
- YouTube - Watch and subscribe to see the latest SOE videos and trailers on YouTube. Find us at YouTube.com/SOEVideos
- "Virtually" Attending Fan Faire! - Once upon a time, people went on vacation and were pretty much out of reach until they got home. Can you believe it? Oh em gee. Nowadays you can't go out to eat, to a movie, or even into...eww...the little elves' room, without hearing someone talking on a cell phone or sending a text message. Here are some tips on staying connected while at Fan Faire.
- Fan Faire Maps - For all those attending, here are a few maps of the inside of the hotel where the events will be taking place. Feel free to use these to map out strategies for maximizing seeing as many panels as possible, or print them out so you reduce the risk of getting lost during the three day celebration
- Fan Faire Looking for Group - To help you find members of your guild and server faster and easier!
As you can see, the 2009 SOE Fan Faire looks to be a fun-filled event with plenty to do for everyone who plays any SOE game and just likes to have fun in general. Throughout the course of Fan Faire, there will be many opportunities for EverQuest players to meet with the team and talk about the game.
We look forward to meeting with everyone who’s coming to Las Vegas! If you can’t make it, be sure to watch the EQ Players website and make use of the resources listed above for daily updates!
See you at Fan Faire!
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